The present invention relates to an axle attachment, in particular for use in commercial vehicles or utility vehicles.
Axle attachments are known in the prior art and usually relate to that region, in which the axle of a motor or utility vehicle is directly or immediately fixed to the vehicle frame thereof, via a trailing arm, for example. In this context, it is usual to design the axle attachment as U shaped fastening or fixing elements having a round cross-section, which have external threads at their respective ends and which clamp or brace the axle against the trailing arm or a leaf spring unit, for example. A disadvantage of such fixing elements is that the contact area between the axle and the fixing element, which area contributes to a frictional or force-fit connection of the axle attachment, is very small and, thus, it is in most cases necessary to reinforce the axle attachment by means of a welded joint. This increases the manufacturing outlay of the axle attachment, and the local temperature loading leads to material stresses or material internal stresses, which in addition impair the strength of the components to be connected. Furthermore, the axle attachment cannot be dismounted for maintenance purposes, and the outlay when handling the assembly, which thus becomes larger in size, increases.
The object underlying the present invention is to provide an axle attachment, which allows for a reliable and easy-to-produce attachment of the axle to the chassis of a vehicle, in particular a commercial vehicle, and which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.